The present invention generally relates to the field of eye surgery and more particularly to a method and apparatus for introducing a corneal delaminator into the cornea of an eye.
Anomalies in the shape of the cornea of an eye can cause vision disorders such as axial myopia (xe2x80x9cnearsightednessxe2x80x9d) and axial hyperopia (xe2x80x9cfarsightednessxe2x80x9d). In certain cases, the cornea may be reshaped to correct or improve vision. In general, the cornea may be flattened to correct nearsightedness and steepened to correct farsightedness. Various surgical procedures have been used to reshape the cornea and affect vision corrections or improvements. These procedures include placement of implants within the cornea to reshape the cornea. In this procedure an incision is made in the cornea to facilitate forming a channel therefrom for receiving the implant(s). The channel may be formed using, for example, a delaminator as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,335, entitled, Corneal Vacuum Centering Guide And Dissector; U.S. Pat. No. 5,843,105, entitled, System For Inserting Material Into Corneal Stroma; or U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,256, entitled, Device And Method For Inserting A Biocompatible Material Into The Corneal Stroma, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. A glide may be inserted through the incision and manipulated into a preformed pocket to serve to guide the dissector into the channel. Various instruments for this purpose are known and are described, for example, in PCT International Publication No. WO 98/03136 of PCT International Application No. PCT/US97/12684 and entitled, Ophthalmosurgical Instruments And Methods Of Use (hereinafter xe2x80x9cthe Instruments Publicationxe2x80x9d). Since it is generally preferred to minimize the time of any surgery, there remains a need to improve procedure efficiencies.
The present invention involves a surgical instrument for guiding a delamination instrument into the cornea of a human eye. The instrument generally includes a handle portion and an end portion. The end portion has at least two flat (or substantially flat) members extending therefrom and in different directions. Each of the members being adapted to be inserted through an incision in the cornea to form a guide for a corneal delamination instrument. With at least two members extending in different directions, one may easily access either pocket formed from a corneal incision with a single tool. According to another aspect of the invention, the members form an angle of about 40xc2x0 to 150xc2x0 with each other. According to yet another aspect of the invention, the instrument may include a support arm coupling the members to the handle portion, each of the members forming an angle of about 15xc2x0 to 60xc2x0 with the support arm.
The above is a brief description of some of the advantages of the invention. Other features, advantages and embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, accompanying drawings and appended claims.